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“Third place out of reach for McLaren?”: Kimi Raikkonen equals McLaren’s points tally of last three races while latter competes against Ferrari

Somin Bhattacharjee
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"Third place out of reach for McLaren?": Kimi Raikkonen equals McLaren's points tally of last three races while latter competes against Ferrari

Ferrari are now favourites to finish 3rd in the Constructor’s Championship after a challenging few races for McLaren. 

McLaren started the season on a solid note and were comprehensively outperforming the Ferrari team. In September, Daniel Ricciardo and Lando Norris finished 1st and 2nd at the Italian Grand Prix, earning McLaren their first win since 2012 and their first 1-2 since 2010.

It all started to go downhill after that. Norris was set for a maiden F1 win in Sochi before a strategy goof-up cost him his moment. He ended up finishing 7th in that race. The young Briton hasn’t been the same since and has been outperformed by the Ferrari drivers in each of the last three races.

Teammate Daniel Ricciardo has also been going through a tough run himself. The Aussie driver has failed to score a single point in the last three races.

McLaren were ahead of Ferrari by 8.5 points going into the Mexican Grand Prix, which was just three weeks ago. The Surrey-based team now trail the Scuderia by 39.5 points.

Also read: Lando Norris rues Pirelli tyre puncture in Qatar as Ferrari extend lead over McLaren in fight for P3

McLaren have scored the same number of points as Kimi Raikkonen in the last 3 races

Norris finished P10 in Mexico and Brazil, followed by a P9 finish in Qatar. Ricciardo has not contributed to even a single point in this triple header. This means that the team have scored just 4 points in three races, not something McLaren fans would want to hear.

On the other hand, Ferrari drivers Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc have brought home a total of 47 points in the last three races.

Alfa Romeo’s Kimi Raikkonen, who spent most of the year out of the top 10, has the same number of points as the papaya team over the last three weeks. The Iceman finished 8th in Mexico, earning 4 points for the Swiss team.

These numbers show how much McLaren have fallen off since their highs in Monza in September. All the momentum seems to be with Ferrari going into the last two races of the season.

The Formula 1 season resumes in 2 weeks when the sport makes its debut in Saudi Arabia. McLaren will be hoping for some miracle for any chance of them reclaiming that third spot from the Maranello based team.

Also read: Ferrari boss’ promise to work overtime on pit-stop problems is showing results

About the author

Somin Bhattacharjee

Somin Bhattacharjee

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Formula 1 Editor Somin Bhattacharjee fell for the sport as well as Fernando Alonso on the same day — during the Spaniard’s thrilling victory at the German GP in 2010. Over the years, the passion magnified manyfold, and metamorphosed into a writing career in 2021. Though holding a bachelor's degree in marketing, Somin discovered his true calling in writing. He has penned over 2,700 articles for TheSportsRush, presenting a diverse range — news reports, opinions, and exclusives. A true Tiffosi, Somin never gives up on a chance to defend the Ferrari boys as a fan. As a sports writer though, he remains objective to the core and relishes opportunities to follow and engage in dissecting the action during races. That’s where the real thrill lies for him. Beyond the racetrack, Somin plays different sports including soccer. He enjoys exploring other sporting events and proudly supports Spanish soccer club Real Madrid.

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